


burden

by fideliter



Category: Persona 3, Persona Series
Genre: M/M, POV Second Person, canon character death, i swear a lot i'm sorry, i will ship this until my dying day, spoilers for october's full moon, u cry and ur tears are blood
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-15
Updated: 2015-11-15
Packaged: 2018-05-01 16:36:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5213018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fideliter/pseuds/fideliter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castor was always the mortal son.</p>
<p>Spoilers for October's full moon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	burden

**Author's Note:**

> I watched the Persona movie with my best friend, got drunk, and wrote this.

Everything glows, green hues reflecting off sidewalks and buildings. The night is almost silent, _almost_. There's a tension in the air that sets your blood ablaze, hair on the back of your neck standing up. It's not good, you know, and you can't believe you didn't realize the date before _now._  
  
Your feet slam against the pavement, mind racing far ahead of you, trying to figure out the fastest path. Turn left here, then go straight for two blocks. You didn't - _you couldn't_ \- wait for Fuuka and the others to catch up.   
  
It's just you and the guilt, rising like bile in your throat, as you skid a little when you take the turn without slowing down. You can't slow down, not now, not when they're together, the anniversary hanging heavy in the air -   
  
In the distance, you hear a gunshot and you can't breathe.   
  
But you're nothing if not resilient - _stubborn_ , a wry voice croons in your ear, deep like _his_ \- and you keep going, ignoring the exhaustion from the battle. _Gekkoukan's Golden Boy._ Another gunshot rings in your ears, echoing on the buildings around you. _I'm almost there,_ you want to scream, lungs _burning_ as you push yourself, faster, faster, _faster -_ __  
  
 _Just hold on, Shinji._  
  


* * *

  
All you can see is blood.  
  
There's a ringing in your ears that doesn't quite block out the gasps and cries of your squadmates. You don't pay them any attention - not even the malnourished, shirtless man slinking back into the shadows - _no,_ you only have eyes for the burgundy jacket and the steadily-growing pool of blood. The dark hour's green hues make the red _pop_ against the cobblestone and you recognize only a dull throb of pain when you fall to your knees beside him.   
  
"Shinji," you murmur, voice hoarse and a whisper compared to everyone else's frantic voices. "Shinji, _please._ " He's bigger than this, you know he is. He is an unstoppable force - he uses an _axe_ , swings it around like a baseball bat - he can shake this off. Nevermind the fact that his coat is quickly turning a completely different (and darker) shade of red, nevermind the blood trickling from his lips. He's talking - not to you and _please, Shinji, don't do this_ \- but it's hard to hear what he's saying around the rattling cough, the one that puts pure fucking fear into your bloodstream.   
  
You grab his hand when he offers it, fingers curling tightly (too tightly, you're probably hurting him; if it was any other situation, he'd give you hell for that - ) and slicking on the blood between you. It's all his, though, _the mortal fucking son_ , and when you bring your joined hands to your lips, the coppery taste makes you want to vomit.   
  
"C'mon, Shinji, let's get up, let's go home - " you babble, voice broken even as Mitsuru places a hand on your shoulder. You want to shrug her off, because this is Shinji - this is _your_ Shinji; if anyone can get up and walk it off, it's going to be him. But he meets your eyes and gives you a look, and that's when you know he's not going to leave this alley.  
  


* * *

_  
This is how it should be._


End file.
